22 Bahrainis jailed for attending anti-regime protests

The ruling regime in Bahrain has sentenced 22 Bahraini activist to jail terms for merely participating in popular pro- democracy protest rallies in the despotic Persian Gulf kingdom.

On Saturday, a Bahraini court sentenced 18 citizens to three years and four others to two years in prison for partaking in protests in Bani Jamra, a village in the northwest of Bahrain.On Friday, thousands of people staged an anti-regime protest in the village of Diraz on the country’s northwestern coast to voice solidarity with journalists and photographers arrested by the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown.A separate demonstration was held in the village of Sanabis, located in the suburbs of the Bahraini capital Manama.Since mid-February 2011, thousands of pro-democracy protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invaded the country to assist the Bahraini government in its crackdown on peaceful protesters.According to local sources, scores of people have been killed and hundreds arrested.On June 10, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) censured the Manama regime for human rights violations in the country. A total of 46 members of the international body expressed deep concern over the Al Khalifa regime’s crackdown on peaceful protesters.